West Ham can replace Crysencio Summerville with quality Stoke City transfer | OneFootball

West Ham United should consider making a move for Stoke City winger Sorba Thomas this summer

West Ham United's 14-year stay in the Premier League is over, with the East London outfit suffering relegation to the Championship for the first time in over a decade, and will no doubt be planning to ensure their stay outside the top tier is as short-lived as possible.

Despite an emphatic 3-0 home victory on the final day against Leeds, West Ham dropped into the Championship despite collecting 39 points, with Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 win over Everton on the same day enough to see the Irons drop.

The two capital clubs were in a hotly contested relegation battle for the last couple of months of the campaign, and it would be the East London outfit who would fall through the trapdoor along with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley.

Nuno Espirito Santo will remain at the helm despite relegation and lead them into the new season, where he will be hoping to replicate his title-winning year with Wolves last time he was in the second tier.

The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes, and Crysencio Summerville, among others, have been linked with moves away already, with the latter having recently been called up to the Dutch national team for the World Cup, where he will be hoping to put himself in the shop window ahead of a big move this summer.

Should Summerville move on, Nuno should focus his attention on another current international star, who recently hit double digits for both goals and assists in the English second tier.

West Ham United should target Stoke City's Sorba Thomas this summer as a potential Crysencio Summerville replacement

Welsh international Sorba Thomas has just endured the most prolific season of his career to date, with ten goals and 11 assists in 45 Championship games for Stoke City.

The 27-year-old joined the Potters for a mere £1.5 million from League One Huddersfield Town in the summer after a loan spell with Nantes in France, and quickly became Mark Robins' most important player.

Thomas created 90 chances across the campaign, averaging exactly two per game, as per FotMob, and seven ahead of next best Hayden Hackney and Josh Tymon, whilst only Southampton's Leo Scienza (21) led him for big chances created (20), and only Sheffield United's Gus Hamer (11) led him for assists (10).

His creativity from the left flank was pivotal to Stoke's early success in the season, and although his best efforts weren't enough to stop the Potters' slipping down the table, he still came out of the campaign with more credit than anyone else.

Nuno has utilised both wing-backs and wingers across his career, with his spell at Wolves more often than not using wing-backs, whilst with Nottingham Forest and West Ham, he has deployed both.

Thomas is capable of playing either role to devastating effect, with his crossing ability second to none in the Championship, with his ability from set pieces is also something that could be well utilised at the London Stadium.

Born in Barking, East London, Thomas would likely be open to returning to where it all began for him, but with both Bournemouth and Everton having registered an interest in him previously, West Ham's task of signing him is far from straightforward.

As a replacement for Summerville, an option on either flank, and versatile, Thomas fits the mould for Nuno, and with West Ham needing players to get them out of the division as soon as possible, Thomas would be a superb option, and someone they simply must consider.

Nuno Espirito Santo is in for a huge summer window at West Ham United

As Nuno prepares for his second spell in the Championship, the Portuguese boss will be well aware of what it takes to get out of the division.

With Wolves, he was blessed with the star power of the likes of Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Matt Doherty, and Willy Boly, and he will be looking for a similar level of talent this time around.

The Irons look like they need to raise in excess of £100 million worth of sales this summer, so a huge portion of their talent will be on their way out of East London, but that doesn't mean they won't be intending on bringing in improvements in certain areas.

Thomas would be an excellent option for West Ham, who should be looking to make contact with Stoke as soon as possible over a potential deal.